Below are samples of current issues of the I.O.L.I. Bulletin

Vol 23 no. 1	Vol 23 no. 2	Vol 23 no. 3	Vol 23 no. 4
Vol 24 no. 1	Vol 24 no. 2	Vol 24 no. 3	Vol 24 no. 4
Vol 25 no. 1	Vol 25 no. 2	Vol 25 no. 3	Vol 25 no. 4
Vol 26 no. 1	Vol 26 no. 2	Vol 26 no. 3	Vol 26 no. 4
Vol 27 no. 1	Vol 27 no. 2	Vol 27 no. 3	Vol 27 no. 4
Vol 28 no. 1	Vol 28 no. 2	Vol 28 no. 3	Vol 28 no. 4
Vol 29 no. 1	Vol 29 no. 2	Vol 29 no. 2	Vol 29 no. 2
Vol 29 no. 1

Volume 16, Number 4

Book Reviews

Limerick Needlerun Lace

by Eileen McMahon, Cillian Publishing, 1995.

The Limerick lace industry was begun as a purely commercial enterprise by an Englishman named Charles Walker. By the year 1842 hundreds of women had found employment and Limerick lace was born.
The two main types of Limerick lace are "needlerun lace" and "tambour lace." Needlerun is a light, delicate lace in which the design is run on net with cotton threads and filled in with darning stitches. Tambour lace is made by stretching the net over a hoop and working the design from underneath with a tambour hook (similar to a crochet hook). The filling stitches are also done with the tambour hook.
Subtitled "A Practical Workbook for Limerick Lace", this book focuses on the needlerun lace. The author describes in detail how to mount the net in a frame, transfer the pattern, and outline the design. She gives detailed diagrams of many filling stitches and a variety of patterns. Your fingers will itch to experiment with them.
36 pages, 8 1/2" x 12", soft cover, 5 B&W photos, stitch diagrams, #N-064 in the IOLI Library. Reviewed by Marilee K. Belanger, Houston, Texas.

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Museums, Galleries & Stately Homes with Lace Collections

compiled by The Lace Guild, England.

Ooooh, to take a trip to the British Isles... If only I could right now, this booklet would be wonderful. In Feb. 1994 The Lace Guild conducted a survey of museums, galleries, and stately homes that were thought to have lace collections. Conducted with a grant from the Crafts Council, the results of that survey were compiled and published in this booklet. It is compact and easy to carry and would be a MUST for anyone traveling to the area.
Organized by regions of the country and listed alphabetically, each entry has the address, telephone, a 1-2 line description of the museum's total collection ("unique collection of industrial, agricultural, and domestic bygones..."), hours of operation, admission fees and then most importantly, a further description of the lace collection ("20 to 30 pieces of lace, some on costume..."). An index by facility names is in the back.
This booklet would make any trip better. How many times do we read articles or take trips ourselves where we find the museum is only open on Mondays or May-October or that we missed a nearby site altogether? Still, it is always best to call ahead to confirm the hours and days of operation but now you have the phone number and know what you can expect! If only I could go.
74 pages, 4" x 8 1/4", soft cover, #H-085. Reviewed by Lee Daly, NJ.

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Tatted Lace - With Tips & Techniques

by Monica Hahn, published by the author, 1994.

Over the years many tatting books have been available but never one that make such a personal statement about tatting. This book is a true pleasure, not only because of the variety of patterns-from simple to complex-but because it offers a personal history of the author's tatting career, helpful hints of all kinds, clear instructions, and poetry! The patterns range from simple snowflake-like motifs to edgings, flowers, hearts, and designs for note paper. I fell in love with the pansy pattern and plan to make it next winter when the delicate tatted flowers will provide warm memories of my summer pansies, long faded away.
18 pages, 6" x 8 1/2", soft cover, 48 B&W photos, drawings, and prickings, #T-079 in the IOLI Library. Reviewed by Susan Keenan, NJ.

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Wedding Lace Portfolio

by Louise Colgan, self-published, 1995.

This booklet offers the lacemaker a coordinated set of Torchon lace prickings for wedding projects. The lace is basic Torchon, 4 pattern prickings in all, but has enough variation in each piece so to keep it easy but interesting to work. Each pattern has a detailed description for working the lace, as well as diagrams, making this booklet especially useful for the less experienced.
Each design includes a heart-shaped fan edge in cloth stitch and many spiders. Some have roseground, some have cloth stitch or half stitch trails-a theme with variations. The projects include a garter, straight edge, hanky, and a small fan. There are also directions for finishing and mounting the fan.
19 pages, soft cover, 8 1/2" x 11", 6 B&W, 26 drawings, 4 full-size prickings. #B-251 in the IOLI Library. Reviewed by Carla Bowlin, IA.

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A Family of Tatted Christmas Ornaments

written and donated by Evelyn Gold, The Pattern Collector

Five of these tatted Christmas ornaments are worked with Kreinik fine metallic braid (#8), and the treetop star is worked with DMC #20 Cordonnet Special. All are embellished with flat-backed acrylic stones. Any of them will add a lively touch of sparkle to your tree.
The instructions in this chart pack are printed individually on 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" cards. One additional card gives assembly and stiffening directions, as well as a list of abbreviations used in the instructions.
Chart pack, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", one color photo. #T-076. Reviewed by Marilee K. Belanger, Houston, Texas.

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Priscilla Netting Book

edited by Belle Robinson, The Priscilla Publishing Co., 1923

This book starts out by describing the tools required for netting. It then proceeds to explain making the knot and forming square, diamond, or round shaped meshes followed by mounting the net and working the embroidery stitches on it. This book is filled with many, filet designs also round doilies and edgings with and witout embroidery. It concludes with netted edgings for coverlets and a tester to the top of a canopy on a four poster bed.
40 pages, 7 1/2" x 10 1/2", soft cover, 59 B&W photos, 66 illus., #N-066 in the IOLI library. Reviewed by Ruth Kurz, AZ.

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Slide Reviews

Nineteenth Century Hand-Made Laces

Script by Pat Earnshaw, England.
Introducing the slides, Pat mentions that by 1800 hand lace making had virtually come to a halt due to the French Revolution, changes in fashion, and the start of machine laces made on the Stocking Frame in 1760. A great change was brought about in handmade lace with the use of good quality cotton thread about 1830 or 1835. Cotton thread produced very white lace, in contrast to the cream or ivory color of linen lace and, for this reason, was associated with machine-made lace where it was first used. In the 1830's a fashion for the color ecru brought about the boiling of cotton lace in coffee to darken it. However, by mid-century, cotton thread was being used by lace makers for both bobbin and needle lace. Pat offers a second important influence on lace as the process of democratization. Urban lace factories brought workers into close association where they were able to form unions to assert their rights. Thus a class of rich manufacturers was created. Machines made lace so cheaply that almost anyone could afford it. Handmade laces were then made in two qualities, so that knowing a lace was Honiton or Brussels did not guarantee that the lace was good. For the rich it could be excellent in quality, for the poor, terrible. A third change came about from the increase in the publication of magazines aimed at women. They showed the latest fashions and gave instructions for making many craft laces, such as crochet, tatting, point lace and openwork knitting. Rich women had time to pursue hobbies like those and poor women had the information to make lace for themselves.
Pat's fourth factor was this century's interest in revivals, as in recreating fashions of the past. She says that Queen Victoria's wedding lace, made in 1840, was an imitation of old lace. In mid-century there was a neo-Gothic period when lace styles of the 1600's were revived to trim clothing. Forty slides were then shown, with accompanying explanation. The first 21 slides were bobbin laces, the rest needle lace. The first slides were continuous laces, showing a diagram of the basic stitches and examples from several countries of different continuous lace styles. The use of colored, gold, wool, silk, linen, and cotton threads were shown in examples from a number of European countries. There were two portraits: Princess Charlotte, daughter of George IV, in 1817, wearing French blonde lace which was imported after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo; and Elizabeth Barrett Browning wearing scalloped neo-Gothic style bobbin lace. Silk Maltese lace, which became very popular as a compliment to the voluminous styles in the 1850's and 60's, was described as quickly and easily made, with an enormous tourist market.
Non-continuous laces were shown and techniques described, with special note of the fact that their production was too laborious and slow to be profitable. Design changes were made to decrease the number of sewings and to introduce the guipure ground, made of bars or brides instead of meshes. Also late in the century, western style laces made in India and China by missionary taught lacers, came to England in sufficient quantity to jeopardize the home industry.
Needle lace developed from embroidery techniques such as cutwork and drawnwork. Reticella and punto in aria are the early forms, which developed through the use of up to 90 varieties of buttonhole stitch. Again, slides were shown of the basic techniques and methods. Note was made of the pattern books first published in the 1500's. Styles were shown from countries such as Italy (Burano), France (Alençon and Argentan), Austria (Vienna) and England (Ruskin-work and broderie anglaise). The last slides were concerned with the craft laces such as Philippine drawnwork on piña cloth, Irish crochet, Branscome lace from Devon and lace knit shawls.
For more information shown in these slides read Pat Earnshaw's book, Bobbin and Needle Laces, Identification and Care. Reviewed by Lorraine Corden, CA

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